Caregiver faces rape charge at seniors' home
A Novato man has been charged with raping a patient at a San Rafael care home where he worked as a hospice nurse.
Michael Andre Shipe, 65, was linked to the crime from DNA tests on evidence in the case, said San Rafael police Sgt. Justin Graham.
The alleged crime was reported in September at Cogir of San Rafael Memory Care at 111 Merrydale Road. The center specializes in services for dementia patients and also offers hospice care.
The woman had a sexual assault examination, and San Rafael police obtained a search warrant to get a sample of Shipe's DNA. Police sent the material to a state lab, which matched the genetic profile to Shipe, Graham said.
Police arrested Shipe on May 10 after receiving the test results. He was booked into the Marin County Jail with a bail amount of $200,000.
On Thursday, the Marin County District Attorney's Office filed a complaint charging Shipe with three felonies: rape of a person incompetent to give consent; lewd or lascivious acts by a caretaker upon a dependent person; and endangering an elder or dependent adult.
Shipe did not enter a plea at his arraignment and is scheduled to do so May 22. He remained in custody Tuesday at the county jail.
The public defender assigned to his case did not respond to a request for comment.
The San Rafael Police Department has received no other reports of potential sexual assault victims at the center. The complex has 50 patients and a capacity for 70, according to an inspection report filed this month by the California Department of Social Services.
Shipe is no longer employed at the center, said executive director Susan Edwards, who did not work there when the crime allegedly occurred.
The care home is one of 64 seniors' complexes operated by Cogir Management USA, according to the company's website. The complexes are in California, Arizona, Washington state, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.
Administrators at Cogir Management USA could not be reached for comment.
Care centers in the state are licensed and regulated by the California Department of Social Services, and they are required to notify the department about incidents that threaten the health and safety of residents, according to department spokesperson Jason Montiel. The San Rafael center duly told the state about the alleged assault.